The present invention relates generally to fasteners, and more particularly to a slip lock pin and cap for fastening two or more juxtaposed objects together. More particularly, the present invention relates to such a fastener having releasable means for establishing a flush-fitting, secure cap on the fastener in relation to the surrounding surface of at least one of the objects being fastened together.
While many conventional fasteners are in use today, such as screws, rivets, bolts and nuts, nails, or welds, use of most of these fasteners requires special treatment with materials such as wood filler, carpenter's putty, and the like on the surfaces of the materials being connected together in order to hide or mask the fasteners. Such masking is required in many cases when conventional fasteners are used in order to improve the appearance of the finished object, for example in the manufacturing of furniture, or the installation of interior paneling or exterior wall coverings such as Masonite siding. Typically, such surface treatments are time-consuming to install, require painting or the like in order to cover them up, and are susceptible to cracking, peeling, and other deterioration.
Sometimes fasteners are used which have plugs or other caps which fit over the ends of the fasteners in receptacles in one of the objects being attached together. Usually, such plugs or caps are either not securely attached, so that they fall off or may be accidentally bumped off easily, or they fit so snugly that they are difficult to remove when it is desired to do so.
Conventional fasteners such as screws and bolts also have drawbacks in that their strength is determined by the strength of their threads, which may be inadequate in some circumstances, and they are susceptible of suffering thread damage from cross-threading, mishandling, over-torquing, and the like.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fast, simple, and secure means of fastening two or more juxtaposed objects together which may be used as a viable alternative to the conventional fastening mean referred to above. It is another object of the present invention to provide fastener which is stronger than a threaded fastener such as a nut and bolt or screw, while not being susceptible to damage such as occurs with cross-threading or the like. It is yet another object of the invention to provide such a fastener having releasable means for establishing a flush-fitting, secure cap on the fastener in relation to the surrounding surface of at least one of the objects being fastened together. It is still a further object of the present invention to provide such a fastener for which the flush-fitting cap means may blend in, for example in color and/or texture, with the surrounding surface of the objects which are fastened together.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a fastener which may be used quickly and efficiently to securely fasten together juxtaposed objects in, for example, the residential or commercial construction industry, with single or multiple units; in single or multiple story industrial applications such as buildings, bridges, or other structures; or in aircraft, spacecraft, boats, ships, or tanks or containment vessels for solids, liquids or other fluids.